The Truth in Broken Mirrors
by one-winged-shinigami
Summary: A story involving a disturbed Duo and a psychoanalytic Heero. Who is the crazy one and who is the sane? What is the cause of the horrible deja vu Heero gets now that he's met the myserious boy and why does Duo desperately need Heero's help?
1. The Truth Behind Broken Mirrors

The Truth in Broken Mirrors

One Winged Shinigami

Pairing: 1x2x1

Warnings: Mental Penetration (worse than an AP Physics test,) NCS, insanity, violence, eventual lemony things that I will warn you about

Rating: NC-17

Notes: I was going to enter this one for the Novella Contest but I feel that I'd rather post this in increments. I hope everyone likes it. I might take a while to update eventually because I'm stupidly attempting Nanowrimo this year and am going to be tearing my hair out. Luckily my story for it sort of correlates with this one so that I will almost be able to cut and paste some parts. I love feedback, anything besides flames without proper reason to back it up will be gladly accepted. Excuse the typos but I lack a Beta Reader as always.

The Truth in Broken Mirrors

Do you remember yesterday?  
Do you remember what I was like down?  
I feel that madness come my way  
I must drink to the vicious clowns.

I don't know if they found your ears  
But I used to have a lot of names.  
Then one so tender pushed me here  
And I watched as they fade away.

Again I wake up on the tiles  
And it's like I was never gone.  
Then just before the pain comes on  
Remember this is where I started from...

The emotions were swirling about him in a whirlwind of chaos. Old. Painful. Spreading like viruses, imbedding themselves so deep beneath the skin that no surgery could ever remove them. The tumors of disarray within his body stuck in his throat, causing every breath to be in pain. He gave an involuntary shudder. Then the voice came whispering of things that were warm and right, and, at the same time, screaming of all the wrongs.

if you are lost in your way

deep in an awesome story

don't be in doubt and stray

cling to your lonesome folly

Singing to him through walls, something in this place was calling to him, stirring something within himself that he never knew he possessed. The boy lifted his head, the curtain of hair causing distortion and comfort.

now you're too close to the pain

let all the rain go further

come back and kiss me in vain

mother oh do not bother

Eyes squeezed shut, trying desperately to get rid of the voice that had penetrated his brain. Echoing about his mind he suddenly could feel the distant sound of a heartbeat. It couldn't be…couldn't be his could it? No, it was too loud, and it was growing still. Thundering with such earsplitting vigor it made the room throb. Gradually he could hear his own heart beat, pumping out the nectar of life to a steady beat. A steady beat that the boy realized was slowly becoming one with the deafening pulse ricocheting about him. His eyes flew open wide in fear and the song continued.

hear the chorus of pain

taking you back to proper ways

it's so easy to find

if you could remind me

He shook his head, "No, no, no, get away! Get out! You're not aloud in! Stop it, go away!" His screams became hysterical cries of mortal fear. Moreover, it became very apparent, all of a sudden, that his hands were sticky. Trembling hands raised themselves in front of his face, the boy took a glance at them, whimpering and shutting his eyes in denial. Taking calming breaths he slowly let his eyes crack open, peering down. Blood covered the monstrosities, dripping in steady streams through his finger and into his lap. It was fresh and warm, seeming almost unnaturally crimson in color. 'What…how?'

now you are lost in your way

deep in an awesome story

so I will find you again

kiss you for lonesome folly

Taking huge gulps of air, he raised his head, letting the curtain of chestnut fall away to peer. Everything was red, so red. A tomblike silence was all that remained; everyone was gone. Why was everyone dead?! He slowly stared back down at his hands, squeezing his eyes shut to block out the continuous whispers. Tears leaked out of the corners of the lids as a chilling cry ripped through his throat and escaped into the night.

The phone's shrill ring echoed throughout the deathly silence that had occupied my office moments before…once, twice, I picked it up on the third, "Yuy here."

"We're bringing him up, are you ready?" A gruff male voice demanded.

I had to let out a sigh; we had been through this before. Not everyone is a complete idiot, just most people. "I am perfectly aware of the situation. Send him up in whatever manner suits you, but I am to be completely alone for the session, are we clear?"

Clearing his throat, the man replied in his gruff, down to business, voice, "You are aware of the dangers you are evoking by requiring that I'm sure?" Of course I get it, I'm not, and have never been, deaf.

I could feel the scowl forming upon my face but of course, the other could not see the sour expression. "Yes, I'm perfectly aware. I'll see you soon." Letting that final statement close the conversation, I allowed the phone to fall back upon the receiver. My body unconsciously counted the seconds, waiting patiently at my desk for the appearance of my newest arrival. What I was waiting for, however, was a complete mystery.

Surprisingly, as it has been for anyone who has had the rare chance of getting to know me, I am a psychologist, one of the most prestigious around in fact. To the confusion of most, there are differences between psychology, psychoanalysis, and psychiatry. Psychology refers to practice of using the study of the human mind, brain, and behavior to various parts of human activity. These activities include the problems of individuals' daily lives and the treatment of mental illness.

Psychoanalysis, on the other hand, is a method of psychology that tries to explain connections among unconscious pieces of patients' mental processes. The analyst's aim is to help rid the patient from unexamined or unconscious barriers of transference (process of unconsciously redirecting feelings, fears, or emotions onto a new object, often the analyst) and resistance (process in which the ego keeps repressed thoughts and feelings from the conscious mind.) In other words, past patterns of relating behaviors and/or thought processes that are no longer serviceable or that inhibit freedom.

I generally use psychoanalytic methods of psychology for diagnostics and the rare times I actually have to treat someone. I find psychiatrists think too inside the box when trying to ascertain mental illnesses, and I technically do not have the necessary medical degree to administer medicine anyway. Not many know my name but a huge many vital undercover jobs are placed in my care. Most of them are politicians in desperate need of a mental check up, however some of them are criminals with questionable levels of sanity; I'm a master of the mad if I do say so myself.

Speaking of which, there was a rapid flurry of knocks placed upon his door before the knocker decided it was acceptable for him to enter of his own accord. A tall bearded man in his late 30s stepped into the room, followed by a heavily muscled black man, his baldhead shining even in the dimly lit room. A man in his mid 20s and a women with her blonde hair pulled into a tight pony tail took the rear.

Center stage stood a teenage boy with all four limbs shackled to a different escort member, chains dragging along the floor. He was clad in tight washed out jeans and a simple white T so big on him that the right sleeve slipped off his shoulder, revealing extraordinarily pale skin. The most amazing thing, however, was the unruly mass of hair that tumbled down his back and fell in front of his face.

"Duo…" the man in his 20s spoke, "we're here…do you want to say hello?" He spoke to the boy as if he were a child, as if comprehension was far fetched, and that he expected nothing out of the boy.

I was about to make an early note however I had to pause as two alabaster hands came up and parted the curtain of chestnut; eventually jaded violet eyes turned to the few that were watching, sparkling like jovial jewels set within the marble of his face. To date this boy took the cake for most exotic by far and I've seen hundreds of patients.

The bearded man headed towards my desk, making a huge racket with his clunky boots, the complete escort followed suit because they all, of course, were chained to the boy. He tossed a manila folder filled with documents upon the polished wood. "Greg Kent…" he grunted out and then turned to point to the black man, "Simon Chappell," then the blonde woman, "Charlotte Popper," then to the last man, "Richard Haire…" "It's pronounced 'Aire…" the man interrupted. Greg sniffed, obviously miffed about being cut off. Finally, he pointed to the boy standing in the middle of the room, scratching his head and staring about the room in complete oblivion. "Duo Maxwell…"

Hearing his name, the boy focused back on the people in the room, his gaze sliding over everyone, resting last upon me. I felt the sudden need to be more of myself then with my usual patients; so I stood, bowing my head at a 45-degree angle in the typical Japanese greeting, "Hajimemashite Maxwell san…" I focused my eyes upon him; people always listen to you better when you are looking at each other. "I am Heero Yuy; do you know why you are here?"

The boy blinked, just starring for a few moments scratching an itch behind his head, a nervous gesture perhaps. He stammered out, "Ko-konichiwa? Umm…help?" Hn, cute, he was adventurous, trying out a foreign greeting on a native speaker.

I had to resist the urge to chuckle, if the tone had not suggested differently I would have taken that as the correct answer. However, it sounded like Duo meant the type of help that you received from someone taller when you couldn't reach something on a high shelf. "In a way…I suppose that answer will suffice for now." I replied.

I turned my attention back to the escorts for a moment, "you're dismissed…I'll call you when we're through for today…"

Greg looked as if he was going to attempt to deny my one request but the I sent him a chilling glare which must have made even the ex army general feel nervous. "Fine" he bit out, turning around on his heels and storming towards the door, 'oh, I'm so sorry. Did I wound your manly pride?' Some people never learn to grow up. Of course, others, I thought bitterly, never had a chance not to.

"Charlotte, release him, he can't have a session in chains." The general barked the order from outside the door and interrupted my dark musings. Duo's eyes widened as he saw the small, golden key appear in the women's hand. She grabbed the boy's wrists and unceremoniously, unlocking the binds there and crouching down to do the same with his ankles. I watched the boy out of the corner of my eyes as a sly look blossomed upon his face, his tongue poking out between his front teeth in concentration on…something.

Finished with her task, the woman stood and headed towards the door, giving a wave-over-shoulder to the boy she left behind.

Duo waved at her until she shut the door. Turning around with a look of triumph about him, lying in his upturned palm was Charlotte's hair tie, and she hadn't even noticed! In addition to that, he swiftly reached into his pants, literally, and pulled out a compact brush, those crappy ones that fold up, in almost perfect condition.

My patient continued to ignore me as he meticulously ran the brush through his tangled locks. I was tolerant though, sitting at my desk and simply watching the other's work. After finishing the run through with his hair, the chestnut-haired boy divided the mass into three sections, quickly yet efficiently braiding it and finishing it off with the stolen hair tie.

He turned around to face me with a grin. "Ah, much better" He stared at me for a couple of moments. "Remind me who you are again."

This was puzzling, not many people had that bad of a memory, and my name isn't all that common; in fact, it's prone to some obnoxious puns from time to time. "I am sorry I haven't left a bigger impression on you, Mr. Maxwell, I am Heero Yuy." It was about as far as I went joke wise but he just waved it off, replying, "Don't worry about it; it's not your fault."

We needed to get started, "anyway, are you quite finished?" I asked, inclining my head towards the forgotten brush at his side.

He turned peered down at the item for a moment before grinning cheekily. "Yeah, I'm ready…"

Motioning for the boy to sit on the couch to my left, I gathered my note pad and the suspicious looking file Greg had given me. Duo reached the edge of the couch, spinning around a few times as if to scan the area, and then plunked down in its center. I soon occupied a simple fold out chair, located near the sofa. I scanned over the braided boy's file, eyes flickering over picture after picture and page after page of documents and legal files. This was some heavy shit.

Sighing, I placed the file onto a table beside him and turned my attention to the boy sitting placidly on the couch in front of me. "Before I properly introduce myself would you mind answering me a few questions?"

The boy bit his lip but slowly nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Do you, on any levels, believe yourself to be among the insane?"

"Someone once said 'The world is insane,' who am I to judge what is crazy and what is not?" Duo vaguely replied without missing a beat, yet I somehow got the awkward feeling that I wasn't the only one he was talking to. The response Duo gave was peculiar but not particularly uncommon. It generally came from pariahs, people who were not understood or who did not understand themselves, or people who could only explain the world as insane when trying to comprehend it.

"Fair enough, however if the world were to take it from your point of view, what would you describe as insanity?"

"Insanity is when innocent people die and the guilty survive, it is wars started for nothing other than greed, it is prejudice, hate crimes, abuse, and poverty, and most of all it is a world that no one can understand."

Was he saying that insanity was simply unexplained evil? Well we could get back to that. I paused because firing out questions in rapid succession generally tends to set a patient off, which is understandable. "So you consider yourself to be quite normal then? There is nothing wrong with you?"

Violet eyes gleamed in the twilight spilling through the window. He chuckled in a manner that could only be described as chilling; perhaps this is what the file was talking about. So far, I had seen nothing in the nature of the boy that even remotely pointed to the character of the crimes committed in the file about him. "oh no, that about sums me up, I should not be considered sane on any level," he nonchalantly twirled a stray lock of hair around his index finger, cocking his head to the side, regarding me with his eyes flashing amethyst color eyes like knives reflecting the moonlight. His lips formed into a crooked smile. "Can you hear him?" he whispered, I would be lying if I said that the tone didn't cause a small shiver or two to run down my spine.

"Who?" I questioned, gaze never faltering.

"Shinigami…" I blinked and looked away. So either he's a schizophrenic, or trying to pass him self off as one. Being that this is one of the most popular fictional mental disorders it is often misconceived and extremely hard to imitate. Schizophrenia is the psychiatric diagnosis of a mental disorder characterized by the impairments in the perception or expression of reality. Minor schizophrenia usually just results in disarray of thoughts; however, if it is left untreated it can result in hallucinations and delusional activities. Most intelligent folk, however, know that this illness is difficult to copy and, in fact, it is so controversial that it has become the obsolete umbrella term for more specific disorders that fall underneath its diagnosis characteristics. Hence, people would not try to depict themselves as someone with a schizoid personality.

And Shinigami? Why would an American know about the Japanese God of Death? Had he been acting before, trying to portray that he didn't know Japanese, or did he say that specifically because I was Japanese, but how would he know about Shinigami in the first place? I decided that I needed to do a lot more research on my newest arrival.

A switch of topics seemed optimal at the moment; we would come back to this later, when I had more information. "Alright Duo, you don't mind if I call you Duo, ne?"

The boy smiled at me reassuringly. "Yup, Duo's my name. I may run and I may hide but I never tell a lie. That's me in a nutshell."

That was interesting, and surprisingly helpful, if what he says is indeed true. "Personal motto?"

He slowly nodded his head, "This above all: to thine own self be true."

The last statement made it obvious that he was very well educated; it was also spoken as a joke so I forced out a little chuckle before continuing the second part of our introductions. "You can just call me Heero I suppose…" I was about to announce to him that I was a psychologist trying to determine his sanity but I decided that the information really wasn't necessary nor advised to give. This was based upon the fact that if I deemed him insane, they would send him back to wherever they were keeping him for the moment, and, if I deemed him sane, he would be sent somewhere even worse. Once again, I needed a subject change. "If you were to narrow it down to an individual, who is most insane?"

Duo narrowed his eyes and I got another glimpse of something beneath the surface. "God…"

That always complicated matters, mentally sighing, I kept my voice at the same monotonous level, to be honest I would have made an outstanding psychoanalyst but that job was far less interesting. "You are religious then?"

Duo chuckled, "No, I'm atheist." Apparently, this question had been asked of him before, since he seemed quite accustomed to the answer.

Narrowing my eyes in confusion, I paused to think back to a few of the pictures, from the file, of Duo right after capture. He definitely was wearing a clerical shirt. "In that case you do not actually believe in such a being so how could he be insane?"

"Well by my definition, that's who it would be. Besides, God could exist, he's just dead, and if he isn't…he should be. I suppose that makes me agnostic but those details are never really important to me."

"Do you blame God for all things that are wrong?" I hate people like that. Forcing their problems on some high celestial being, it always came back to bite people in the ass.

Duo's eyes hardened, "no" he bit out, "why should I be his responsibility? I'm not a kid; I don't need to be coddled like that."

I raised my eyebrow, scanning over the clipboard for a date. Finding nothing, I took a long glace at the limber form in front of me. He wasn't anywhere close to being buff but any observant person could notice the ripple of strength underneath his skin. He was quite masculine despite the long hair. On the other hand, he had big, doe like eyes and it didn't look like he had shaved a day in his life and yet had no body hair to show for it. Therefore I concluded that he had to be young, at least a couple of years younger than I was. "How old are you? You say you're not a child but you can't possibly be even old enough to drive."

"Really? And how old are you then? You don't seem like you've even reached the drinking age yet."

Well, well…most people think I'm older than I really am. This is the first time I've been caught in the act. Luckily, it's a bit too late in the game for me to get in trouble with anyone for my little fraud game. "I'm told I'm 19, and you?"

Lithe legs crossed themselves; it would seem like a defensive gesture for most. Duo, however, made it out to be more like a stance of contemplation. "Exactly, so don't think age matters." He gazed around the room, eyes locking on something, I wasn't sure what.

"Who ever said I did? I am only asking for your age because you brought up not being a child in the first place. If you do not wish to answer then…"

"16"

I stared at him, "you're 16?" His body didn't exactly reflect it.

The boy, young man I suppose, looked back at me. Then scratched his head, "yeah well that's what I tell people. I don't really know, I'm probably more like 15 but…I could be."

Finally, a lead on something about the braided boy, "why don't you know your own age?"

Duo paused, his eyes scanned over my Spartan room and rested upon something over by my desk. "I hate that…"

I, having not caught what Duo was paying attention to, had to do a run through of what our conversation had been so far, still not coming up with a plausible reason to say the previous sentence, I inquired, "Hate what?"

"That…thing behind your desk…" Duo grimaced starring at mentioned item. Maybe it was his turn to switch the subject. All right then, if it made him comfortable.

The "thing behind the desk" happened to be a piece of modern art that, for once, did not look like a piece of trash. It was the only decorative piece in the room and caused the dimmed light from the ceiling to bounce about in random patterns, for the item happened to be a perfectly kept shattered mirror that took up the entire expanse of the wall it occupied.

I turned my head to study it for a moment before refocusing my attention upon my easily distractible patient; either that or he was avoiding something. All right, I'll play along.

"Why is that?"

Duo blew the bangs out of his eyes, sighing and briefly refocusing his attention on the piece. Shaking his head as if to clear it he replied, "it reminds me of something." He rubbed the inside of his arms in a possible attempt to rid his flesh of the goose bumps that had risen only moments before.

"Seven years of bad luck?" I asked in a jovial, well as jovial as I got, manner, trying to keep the mood light. We didn't need to get too serious on his first visit. Unfortunately, I am not the best at judging social situations, since I always read far too into things. The lack of humor in Duo's response only reaffirmed this.

He chuckled in a surprisingly bitter manner. "More than just seven…" That could only mean bad news but since I didn't know or want to press for the specifics yet…it was time to get back down to business in the usual manner.

I wrote a few things down in my notebook as I spoke, "Well if all goes well, I can wish for a bright and beautiful future for you, I'm sure the bad luck will end soon. Now as I was saying…"

"That's up to you." He interrupted, again, might I add. I raised an eyebrow at him from over the clipboard.

"My future, is it not?" He voice dripped with contempt. "I hate liars. Truth is beauty, beauty truth…and that…" He jabbed his finger over in the mirrors direction, "isn't beautiful at all, that's why it had to break." He stated this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which to be honest was slightly unnerving.

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment in thought. "I assume you know why you're here then?" I asked, reopening them.

A single eyebrow flew into the beginning of his bangs, "do you?"

What? Of course I knew, I was the psychologist here, not him. What could possibly spur the boy to ask such a question? It almost seemed that our roles were reversed now, and that was completely unacceptable. The answer to this, therefore, had to be a question. "Why wouldn't I? It seems very straight forward to me."

Peering at me from under his bangs, he smiled at me. "Perhaps you are not as intelligent as I thought. You need to look around more often, not everything is crystal clear, Heero."

I sighed, he was insulting me, and he was beating around the bush, very frustrating. I glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that an hour had came and went. If every session was like this, I would have to extend the deadline, and that was unacceptable as well. "If you wish to tell me something, then say it. I have no intention of playing cat and mouse with you for information."

Duo twirled a lock of hair around his finger, "ever thought that I might not be at liberty to say?" He scratched behind his ear and sighed, "Tell you what. We'll make a deal, makes this easier on both of us, no?"

I stared into those spiraling indigo of his and looked for any sign of trickery or devious nature of any kind. I found nothing but painful honesty hiding in plain sight. I had never seen anything like it. "What kind of deal?"

"I'll tell you anything you wish."

I blinked, well that would be wonderful but he had to think I was pretty stupid to not think about what the catch was. "And…?"

"It's easy…" he smiled in a jovial manner.

I groaned, why did he have to be so difficult? "Yes…?" I bit out.

He crossed his legs, sitting up straighter as well. "You take whatever's in that file and burn it. It's biased and completely one sided. I'm me, and what I say should be what you decide my fate upon."

I snorted, "I'm not a judge…"

Duo caught my eye, "you're mine."

I felt like something huge and sticky lodge itself in my throat. I swallowed, what was the matter with me today? Shaking my head I spoke, "you know I can't do that, its classified information. Moreover, even if I decided to break the 50 rules in book you are asking me to, how do I know you're telling the truth? If you've made it this far I assume you're a good actor, ne?"

Duo smiled, "see, I know I was right about you…" he shook his head, "such a waste that I get someone with some actual sense in their head and they end up being afraid of the government. I'm the one whose on trial here, remember?"

"While I do thank you for your compliment, that's exactly the point." I pointed a finger at the boy, "you're a criminal, you're word is close to nil. I've already looked at your file and, in case you haven't noticed, it's some serious stuff. You don't think I'm actually going to buy that you didn't do all this. The evidence is so clear there is no way it has been tampered with."

The room was silent for a few awkward moments. I actually felt a little bad about calling him a liar; he seemed so disturbed by the accusation. What's worse was that, despite all that, I could tell he understood the reasons for my precautions, even if they did sicken him.

A sharp whisper ripped through the air, "I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at,' please, Heero, I need you to agree to this. Let me explain to you why I can't lie, then maybe you'll understand me better."

And that statement dutifully rewarded us with 3 bangs of "General" Kent alerting us to his presence. Duo raised his head and glared at the door, as if it was the source of all his problems. Sighing, he rubbed his face into the palms of his hands. "So much for that..."

I smirked widely at his response to the barbaric door banging. "Don't worry, you'll be here tomorrow. We have quite a few sessions ahead of us."

Duo gave me a befuddled expression before morphing it into a smile, "I bear a charmed life."

The knocking grew into hard bangs against my newly painted door. I growled low in my throat, causing Duo to whip his head around and stare at me in surprise, both eyebrows raised. I ignored him for a second to yell out, "come in!" before flashing a second smirk at the boy.

He briefly stuck his tongue out at me before his expressions quickly morphed into a grimace as the General entered the room. I scowled up at the man as well. "You're early."

The man then had the audacity to check his watch, as if he didn't know the time, and smirk at me. "Yeah well, we're late for another appointment. The boy keeps us very busy." His gaze flicked maliciously down at Duo, who immediately stood, keeping his eyes completely callous, once the gaze rested upon him.

I sniffed in disapproval, "nevertheless, you owe me an extra ten minutes, remember that for next time."

He gave me a long glare that was probably intimidating to most; however, we'd been through the glare routine before so I was already finding it to be a bore. I stood, gathering my notes, and headed towards my desk. Surprisingly Duo followed me, standing besides me while I arranged things on the opposite side of my desk. He didn't look at me at all though; he was still staring blankly at the man at the door.

The General's focus, however, was still fully upon me. He snarled under his breath. "You don't run the show, kid."

Double whammy for him, one, he obviously didn't know what he was talking about, and two he called me a kid when I haven't been one is so long. I whirled around and glared daggers at the man. "Let's get this straight…" I bit out "…you're right I don't run the show, I am the show. The only reason you get to play intermediary is for one reason, your boss hired me on this case. Therefore, this is my time, and yours is very much second to mine. I haven't reached this point being a kid and even when we boil it to down the basics I will always be superior to you." I was thrilled with the fact that his face was now a bright shade of red, he looked like an angry carton with steam coming out of his ears. However, the thing I loved best about my little speech is the fact that my patient was grinning from ear to ear at the man, obviously very pleased with the verbal lashing Greg had just received.

The man let out a loud snarl, but for some reason it wasn't directed at me, it was at the braided boy. "What are you grinning at boy? Mind your place; you know what's coming next, right?"

Duo scowled, "you're pathetic."

This only seemed to please the man however, "Charlotte! Get in here!" The woman quickly obeyed his orders. "Bind and search him…" He turned his head back to Duo, "…I see you've got your hair braided. You know that's against the rules."

The braided boy hung his head, sighing, "I told you, I feel better with it out of my face."

Charlotte crooked her finger, summoning Duo over to her. Duo compliantly followed the demand, walking over and standing by the woman. "Take it down." She ordered, obviously peeved about having her hair tie taken right under her nose. Duo pouted, ripping the hair tie out of his hair, his makeshift braid exploding into a waterfall down his back.

Several items fell upon the floor. A paper clip, Heero's watch and favorite pen, and a letter opener, which Heero had conveniently left upon his desk before he had began the session. Charlotte sighed, handcuffing the boy before bending down to pick up the stolen items.

"Stop!" barked out Sir Snarls-a-lot, halting the woman in her tracks. She looked up, questioningly. "Search him first."

"Strip search, sir?" A strip search, was that really necessary? I had the sudden need to take a long sip from my water bottle. The General shook his head, "no that can wait, just a thorough pat down for now."

I stared at the boy who hadn't made a peep for a long while. I didn't notice anything at first glance, but looking back I suddenly realized that Duo's entire face had gone placid, almost docile. Was this the real reason that Duo was not allowed to braid his hair? He seemed so much more childish now that he was staring at everything as if he'd never seen it before.

"Duo," Charlotte spoke. He slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers. She upturned her mouth into what I assume to be the beginnings of a smile, "search."

He continued staring unblinkingly into her eyes, as if the words had not registered in his mind yet. Finally, his eyes widened with the sprouting of a new idea and surprisingly his gaze flickered over to mine before his expression morphed into a something I couldn't place, but whatever it was, Duo liked it. He leisurely raised his cuffed arms, crossing them over his head, as if he were trying to stretch his shoulder blades. Charlotte began patting him down, starting with his back, which required her to wrap her arms around him in what would have looked like an act of affection in any other circumstance. The hands kept going, making their way over to the front of his body, but the strangest thing was, the entire time this was happening, Duo's eyes were locked upon mine, a strange little smile playing across his face.

The hands delved underneath his tent sized T-Shirt and then slid down to his thighs and buttocks area. Duo leisurely closed his eyes, leaning his head back, a contented little smile emerging on his face. The pat down finished with a run down of his inner thigh and lastly his calves. Picking the items off the floor, Charlotte stood back up and called out, "completed." Duo gently opened his eyes, letting this bound wrists to fall to the front of his body.

"It's time to leave," growled out the General. Charlotte went back and placed the items back on my desk before walking back towards the door. The boy looked up and left his gaze on mine as if he'd forgotten what it was he was going to do. "Come on, Duo." The white man called from the door, trying to hide the chain leash he was most likely going to attach to Duo's ankles once again. Duo blinked, raising both his hands, he tried to scratch his head again, but the action proved a lot more difficult to do in cuffs. His eyes widened in surprise, as if an idea has just been born inside his head. "Ja ne! Hee chan!" and with that he practically bounced out of the room, obviously quite please with himself. He really was different, I thought to myself as a small smile formed across my own face.

I hate Bastard Heeros, so even though he may seems a bit stone faced in the first few chapters, it is because he likes to remove himself from his work as it is a very commonly accepted method of psychology, notice how the writing style is kind of like observing and experiment, it's supposed to be like his notes. If you didn't get that, it's ok because I'm a loser like that. Anyways no need to fear, he will warm up I promise.


	2. Lithium

Title: The Truth behind Broken Mirrors

Author: One Winged Shinigami

Pairing: 1x2x1

Rated: NC-17

Warning: Mental Penetration (Worse than an AP Physics test,) insanity, violence, alludes to NCS, eventual Lemony things

Notes: A story involving a disturbed Duo and a psychoanalytic Heero. Who is the crazy one and who is the sane? Or is everyone around them the ones who are insane. Corruption in the government, wars without an end, dead children, poverty, illness... who is Duo and why does he desperately need Heero's help? And why does Heero keep getting deja vu now that he's met the mysterious boy?

Meep, I forgot a disclaimer in the first chapter. God my memory has been shot to hell.

Disclaimer for the rest of the story: My therapist promises that if I write enough letters to Bandai, they'll give me Duo and Heero. Still haven't heard back from them though so I don't at the moment.

Chapter 2

Lithium

_1. Chemistry__A soft, silver-white metallic element, the lightest of all metals, occurring combined in certain minerals. _

_2. Pharmacology__The substance in its carbonate or citrate form used in the treatment or prophylaxis of bipolar disorder or mania._

Is it any wonder why I'm scared?  
If I was a little younger would I care?  
Feeling like the walls are growing stronger,  
I don't know if this cage can hold me any longer

You never dreamed you'd have to live your life so guarded,  
Cause they'll find a way to make you feel discarded

I'm not afraid of tomorrow,  
I'm only scared of myself,  
Feels like my insides are on fire,  
and I'm looking through the eyes of someone else

I never thought they'd want me to go even faster,  
Never thought I took my foot off the gas,  
Everybody loves to be in on the pressure,  
But I know they're all waiting for the crash

You never dreamed you'd have to live your life so guarded,  
Cause they'll find a way to make you feel discarded,

Things have changed you've become a complication,  
Can't make it through another days Humiliation  
I'm not afraid of tomorrow,  
I only scared of myself,  
Feels like my insides are on fire  
and I'm looking through the eyes of someone else

Someone else...

Is it any wonder why the answer keeps me petrified?  
Is it any wonder why,  
I'm scared...

. 

Click, nothing, next page, click, nothing, next page, click...

Sickly greenish backlighting burned its way into my eyeballs, or perhaps it was the violent violet that had remained that disturbed me. Apart from the light from the computer, the room was cast in the shadow of the evening hour. My pulse rang loudly in my ears and throat as I swallowed and slipped into my fourth hour of searching for information. Sighing, I stretched, standing, having nothing to do but let one more program do a sweep. I walked over to the heavy curtains that were drawn across my window. Everything outside was drenched with rainwater. I had heard the storm but hadn't realized it had gotten so wet. I frowned as my gaze settled on the city below. It was time to go… I turned back around to see my computer winking at me.

. 

The room was bleached ivory, shining a powerful white. It was blinding, everything reflecting off everything else, a photographer's worst nightmare.

"Get those clothes off him!" snapped General Greg. His jeans were yanked off him, followed by the T shirt. He hissed as this caused the cuffs to chafe against him. A series of searches were carried out, followed by a plethora of injections that would have even the most fanatical Heroin addicts feeling slightly disturbed. Nevertheless, he stood there, eyes open, waiting for what he already knew was coming. Greg licked his lips, a gesture that not even his fellow comrades could stomach very well, it was hideous, his leering. "You are dismissed," he growled out, keeping his gaze fixed upon the boy. Hearing the door announce the departure of the other three, he began to shrug out of his worn leather, military coat.

. 

"Trowa, I need to talk with you." I hoped my voice didn't sound as desperate as it seemed, I clutched the phone a bit tighter.

"Alright, shoot," replied the smooth, deep, voice I had come to rely on when things went way down hill.

I sighed, closing my eyes, "in private, certainly not over the phone."

There was a sigh and then, "Heero, when are you going to get over your paranoia and realized that most people aren't after you?"

I was really not in the mood for this, "Trowa this is ridiculous, I need help god damn it! Not your cynical attitude, and definitely not a shrink session with you as the shrink!"

There was a pause and for a moment I thought the man had hung up on me, "alright, sounds serious, where do you want to meet?"

I smiled, much better, "let's just do the usual, meet you in an hour?"

"Right," came the voice and a click came soon after that. I placed the phone back on the hook and refocused my attention on the screen, frowning. 'Where are you? I can't find you. Stop hiding from me, Duo…'

. 

"Duo…"

Eyes opened, gaze drifting over to the woman at the doorway through the mountains of hair that had collected over his face as he lay bent over the examinations table, his entire torso flush against the cold metal. Slowly he pushed his form into a standing position; the woman cocked her head to the side, waiting for him. "Come on, you know the drill."

He let the curtain fall, blocking his eyes from sight. Padding over to the door, he passed the woman as he went.

"Duo…" her voice called out softly again. He stopped in his tracks but did not turn around to face her. An innocent whisper cut through the air,

"I don't want to…"

The woman turned to face the boy's naked back. "Well you have to." She replied, no sympathy in her voice.

He turned his wide eyes to her, they seemed so far away, too distant to follow. "It hurts…," he breathed. She stared at him for a long time. "You're lying" she finally bit out, giving him a slight shove forward. "Go" she ordered. He was quick to obey, walking swiftly down the hallway away from her.

He mentally counted the doors as he went along.

'One two buckle your shoe  
Three four shut the door  
Five six pick up sticks  
Seven eight lay them straight…'

Hallways branched out, leading to the elsewhere that was this private little world. Duo finally stopped outside a large, double hinged doorway.

"Nine ten start over again," he whispered, leaning his head against the cool stainless steel door, allowing his head push him through to the other side.

The room he entered was quite a chilly temperature against his bare flesh, but Duo relished in it. In the center of the room lay what looked like those moving walkways you see at the airport. The boy walked up to it, staring down the conveyor belt to where it lead through the wall into the next room. There was a large strip of window facing along one side of it but Duo paid it no mind. He threw his cuffs around an adjustable hook that hung from a bar in the ceiling, watching as it slowly closed its metallic fist around the chains. The walkway began moving and as a result so did Duo, his cuffs making screeching sounds against the bar above him as it was dragged along. The bluish tint to the room began to change color. Shower heads from above spit out water at high speeds, spraying the boy from all angels. However, it was not the force of the water that hurt, it was the temperature. 80 degrees climbed to 90, 90 to 100, it kept going until Duo was crying out at the sensation. His screams echoing about the tiled room, his head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut. His legs slowly gave out from underneath but the chains kept him in a standing position, the dead weight of his unsupported body causing them to chafe against his skin. Screams turned into gurgles, and then were swallowed up into nothing…

. 

"It's called Larkhill."

A fit of hacking reverberated out of the unibanged boy that sat across from me. His name was Trowa and I was seriously contemplating CPR by the time his coughing fit had let up. He had a look of startled horror disfiguring his face; there was something very wrong about this place. "Trowa, pull yourself together. You look like you have seen a ghost."

Trowa shook his head, "I might as well have…" He stared at me straight in the eye, I must admit the man was quite good at it, my attention was instantly completely focused on him. He was silent though, and I am not a mind reader.

"What is it, then?" I pressed; this was why I had dragged my long time friend out here in this first place after all.

"It's… well it's a medical facility."

If there is one thing I hate, its hospitals. In fact, the color white gives me a headache. And don't even think about getting near me with a needle.

This posed a lot more questions so I began shuffling through my briefcase for the file. I was about to pull the thick folder out but suddenly Duo's words came back to me, it was strange it was almost like he was there repeating it to me in my ear. _"I'm me, and what I say should be what you decide my fate upon."_ Without thinking, I dropped the folder back into place. I could feel Trowa raising his eye at me when I came back to sitting in a normal position with nothing in my hands to show him. He was obviously very curious about why I needed to know about the place. I straightened my napkin, "I had that case I told you about today."

I could tell this was a strange branch of behavior for me. I never got into details about work, only allowing vague discussions of it to enter into conversations.

Trowa paused for a second before replying, "ah, the one you didn't know anything about before it started?"

"Well I've had those kinds of cases before." I explained, though it seemed to be more to myself than to him. There was a long silence between us, I still was not looking my friend in the eye, I didn't want to accept the fact that I was acting strange, and I know his eyes would show just that.

Trowa chuckled, "ah, so someone has finally caught my young padawan's attention. Who is she?"

All the silverware that I had been in the process of aligning perfectly fell, with a clatter, to the floor. At that I had to look up and glare at him, "**She** is a guy, Trowa, and this has nothing to do with that."

His face dropped in disappointment, "then what is this about, Heero?"

I bent down and retrieved the utensils, placing them as far away from me on the table as possible and then replacing them with the table next to ours'. "I don't know, I just… I need more information about him, I can not continue his case with the amount I have right now."

"But what does this have to do with Larkhill?" Trowa questioned.

I shook my head, "I don't know, but he and it are connected some how. So what do you know about the place?"

Trowa sat back in his chair with a sigh, "Well it's certainly not the most popular place on the planet. It's full of security, uptight scientists, and stern doctors and nurses. It isn't meant to be a pleasant experience going there."

"Why have I never heard of it? What's it for?"

The tick in his leg causing it to twitch about, he often did this when he was nervous. Actually, he always did it after sitting still for long periods of time. "It's the dark horse of the OZ organization." He was rocking the table a bit; the crystal clear water swirled about our glasses as a result.

Well anything involving them had to be a bit disturbing, that was for sure. "How can a hospital be the dark horse of anything, especially them?"

He shrugged, "it's not a hospital per say… there are…certain distinctive characteristics that one must have to be a patient there. And there is no care involved in what they do there…" Trowa trailed off, leading me to ponder.

The food finally came. I had ordered my regular, which is a Caesar salad, and Trowa immediately bit into his grossly proportioned BLT. I waited while he chewed before asking, "Then what is the defining characteristic? Who ends up there?"

"You are going to have to figure that one out yourself, I know next to nothing about it; it's one of the most secretive places in the world. All I know is that a lot of people who work there are idealists, which isn't much help." He went back to quickly gobbling down his food. I then remembered that he had somewhere to be, so I quickly began digging into mine as well, despite the pit of nausea that hat sprung to life inside my stomach.

"Listen, I know you have to run off to your fuck bunny but do you know anyone who could tell me more about this? I really need the information Trowa, nobody's life is a complete secret.

"Except yours of course, right Heero?" Trowa bit out sarcastically; well at least I hoped it was. He was glaring at me, obviously offended by rudeness towards his lover. Which was understandable, I had no reason to address him in such a way; he was a fine person in all standards. "I'll have you know that Quatre" there was a huge emphasis on the name, "is your best bet to getting the information you seek, he has more connections in that area."

I looked up with a hopeful glance, cursing inwardly at the pissed off expression Trowa had on his face. I sighed, "Look Trowa I'm sorry, I'm a bit of a mess today. Quatre's a decent person; I just really need to know more about…"

Trowa cut me off, "I'll ask him to send you an email, is that ok?" Trowa was smiling at me previous discomfort. I didn't need to apologize often.

I smiled back, "acceptable." I know he absolutely loathes when I talk like that. It has become a bit of a humor spot for me.

He punched me lightly in the shoulder, "asshole" he stated jovially, before standing up and putting his jacket back on, it was getting colder outside. "You get to pay this time for being a dip shit."

I chuckled, "alright Trowa, have a nice night." With that he was gone, off to spend time with better company. I left my dinner half eaten, leaving a healthy tip for the waitress. Stepping out into the night air, I shivered. I had brought no jacket with me but that was alright because I drove to work now a days. The city lights were too bright to see the stars but I imagined, as I strolled down the street, that the sky had to be beautifully clear tonight after this evening's storm.

. 

The loud slam of a cell door woke the boy right before he was unmercifully thrown to the cold marble floor. He quickly scrambled to the nearest corner, pulling his knees up against his chest, staring blankly out through thick locks of chestnut. Everything was pitch black now save for that sharp violet gaze. The one way mirror began to glow from the reflection of the moon coming from the small window at the top of the cell, outlining Duo's reflected silhouette in pale light.

if you are near to the dark  
I will tell you 'bout the sun  
you are here, no escape  
from my visions of the world  
you will cry all alone  
but it does not mean a thing to me

"The oh so familiar voice began. Filled with malice and contempt, it seared through his mind, penetrating every inch of his soul. "I don't understand…" the boy responded in a whisper, "No! What did I do wrong?!"

knowing the song I will sing  
till the darkness comes to sleep  
come to me, I will tell  
'bout the secret of the sun  
it's in you, not in me  
but it does not mean a thing to you

"Don't you realize what you're doing to me? You're driving me mad! I hate you! Set me free? You put me in a prison to set me free?!"

the sun is in your eyes  
the sun is in your ears  
I hope you see the sun  
someday in the darkness

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it. I wasn't in a prison. I was happy! I was happy here –"

the sun is in your eyes  
the sun is in your ears  
but you can't see the sun  
ever in the darkness  
it does not much matter to me

"That's warped! That's evil and it's wrong! What gives you the right to judge? Who are you to say what's not good enough?!"

A sharp tremor ran through the boy's body. He jolted upright, eyes flying open, letting out a surprise gasp of pain. He curled into a ball in the corner, making the cell appear empty at first glance. "I'll listen this time… mother…"

. 

Ok, I hope this chapter answers whoever asked whether Duo is a virgin. Yeah, um, I don't think that this is possible when the boy grew up on the streets. Some people seem to forget this detail and skip right to the Maxwell Church but Duo lived on the streets both before and after the church aspect of his life. The streets implies you have no money, which means you get food whatever way possible, which means when stealing doesn't work you are going to be selling yourself, end of story. In addition, most people who live and run the streets are creepy and are those people you cross the street to avoid just so you yourself don't get raped. If you live on e the streets, you are bound to have tons of unwanted sex going down, yes everyone pat Duo on the head.

Uh, yeah, there is a very good reason for why Heero is 19 already a psychologist. Part of it you can figure out but…Heero has a lot of secrets in this too let's just leave it at that…

The chapter title is both a Nirvana song and an Evanescence song and they both fit this fic VERY well. I advice listening to both of them but not at the same time as Kurt and Amy don't mix. This chapter is shorter, but I think the next will be longer. Props to anyone who can tell me where these songs are coming from and which anime I watch too much (2nd only to GW.) I also apologize for the switching of POVs and from 3rd to 1st tense (this will not happen so often from now on), and any other grammar crap because I lack a beta.

Please comment, I love comments.


	3. Chimera

Title: The Truth behind Broken Mirrors

Author: One Winged Shinigami

Pairing: 1x2x1

Rated: NC-17

Warning: Mental Penetration (Worse than an AP Physics test,) insanity, violence, alludes to NCS, eventual Lemony things

Notes: A story involving a disturbed Duo and a psychoanalytic Heero. Who is the crazy one and who is the sane? Or is everyone around them the ones who are insane. Corruption in the government, wars without an end, dead children, poverty, illness... who is Duo and why does he desperately need Heero's help? And why does Heero keep getting deja vu now that he's met the mysterious boy?

Standard Disclaimer Applies

Chapter 3:

Chimera

_n. _

_An organism, organ, or part consisting of two or more tissues of different genetic composition, produced as a result of organ transplant, grafting, or genetic engineering._

_A substance, such as an antibody, created from the proteins or genes or two different species._

_An individual who has received a transplant of genetically and immunologically different tissue._

_A fanciful mental illusion or fabrication._

The click of the dead bolt lock being slid open was obnoxiously loud in comparison to the silence that emanated around the hall. Why I was up this early and at work was still a mystery even to me. The door slid open revealing the simplicity that was my office. A loud breath permeated the air and it instantly became apparent that it was not my own. My gaze swooped around the room, zooming in on my desk. Stunning, words could not describe the complexity of the sleeping figure in front of me. Shining hair spread out around his body like a halo, supple yet lengthy arms crossed over the subtle rise and fall of his chest. That same T-shirt draped over his shoulder, revealing half his torso.

A loud wailing echoed about the room, desperation was almost tangible in the sound of it. But there was no origin; nothing was making it. As the shriek began to fade, the boy's eyes flashed open, swirling violet eyes focusing in on me, swallowing me.

Another loud breath, this time it was mine. I'd fallen back upon the door causing it to slam shut behind me. The gaze upon me melted into fear, pure terror. He began to struggle, like invisible binds kept him in his place. He thrust his pelvis up and down; the force of his hips slamming back against my desk caused all the nearby items to fly off in disarray. All the while, his eyes were on mine but it didn't feel like he could see me, it felt like he saw right through me, as if I wasn't even there. The whole thing was very horrifying, very disturbing, and had a sexuality about it that cannot be put into words.

Finally, a second force seemed to ripple around the room, slamming Duo's hips down once more and firmly holding him there. I could almost see the handprints forming on top of his innominate bone, but no one was there, everything had become completely silent.

"Duo…" I called out, but the sound was swallowed up before it even left my mouth, keeping the chilling quiet dominating the room. He had remained looking at me, but I could tell that he wasn't really in the room, he was far away. The tranquility of his face suddenly became very clear to me, it was Nirvana.

In the words of Buddha: "I teach one thing and one thing only: suffering and the end of suffering." To achieve this state of the end of suffering, devotees train and purify the mind, eventually arriving at an understanding of the true nature of all things. In this way all ignorance and unhappiness ends, and liberation is attained. This state is called Nirvana and is so appealing that men spend their entire lives trying to find it.

Only a select few do, of course. Emotions and desire play far too large a role in human life to be so easily ignored. Nirvana eludes everyone; it is untouchable and too pure for the human heart. And I knew that. Yet, at that moment, I wanted nothing more then reach this place as well. His eyes welcomed me there along side him.

And with that thought in mind, I was by my desk, staring down at his sharp form as he stared back at me. Those eyes cut through me and left cold fires burning in their wake. I could see something moving in his chest and it took me a second to realize that his skin was so thin that a small portion underneath his breast bone was slightly transparent. His heart was pounding his life blood in frantic torrents beneath his skin, seemingly desperate to get free. And why wouldn't it? The heart had a window to the outside like nothing I'd ever seen before.

And perhaps that meant the same for outsiders trying to look inside. I had to touch that window; it wanted me to touch it. Duo wanted me to touch it; I could see the desire for it in his eyes. This wasn't curiosity it was something else, it was life, his life.

_Are you real?_

_Are you?_

_I…don't know._

_Proof… A touch?_

_Yes._

This exchange was peculiar, as nothing had been said out loud. I felt like I should be thinking this whole situation was a bit nutty. But I had somehow put that entire idea out of my mind. It was Duo's fault most likely; my entire attention was centered on him.

I tentatively reached my hand out, waiting for my conscience to draw it back and for Duo to draw it forward. Duo blinked and I snapped, willing my hand back to the safety of my side. But Duo's hand shot out and grabbed mine, not giving me a minute to think as he pulled it towards him.

Closer

Closer

I was about to make contact but instead of coming in contact with flesh, I sank into him. I flew through that window and suddenly I was floating in swirling darkness with the sounds of anguish echoing about. This wasn't Nirvana at all, how could I have been so blind?

Colors, electricity, and images I couldn't understand flashed by. They swirled next to me, around me, through me. I was twirled about and thrown in disarray; everything became a cacophony of sounds, swirling particles of light, and the feel of a thick bass reverberating through me.

And then the feeling of a silvered knife plunged itself into my chest. I wanted to cough. I wanted to scream. I wanted to gasp. But I could do nothing, not even a breath could escape my body. The world stretched and twisted and then snapped like a rubber band pulled too far in one direction.

I reopened my eyes, not realizing I had closed them. A brightly lit hallway formed around me and I found myself running towards the end of it. What I thought was just a natural instinct to run turned out to be a total loss of control over my body. I was running but it wasn't me who wanted to do so. It was as if I was in someone else's body, except I could see myself out of the corner of my eye and I knew my body was my own.

I ran and ran and ran; my footsteps made rhythmic beats upon the white marble that were swallowed up like sounds underwater, except the hallway didn't seem to end. It just got brighter and brighter, until I was perfectly blind and still running. I could still hear screaming… but it could well have been my own.

A force picked me up and blew me forward, landing me through a door and into a place that felt eerily familiar. Suspended in a tank filled with teal colored water, was Duo, seemingly in a state of peaceful nothingness; sleep. He was completely naked and his hair floated loose around him, slowly moving about his lean form. But attached to the bottom of the tank were all sorts of twisted plugs and metallic tubes. Nasty looking electronic equipment filled the room in an orderly fashion and the whole thing felt incredibly warped.

A wave of nausea swept over me, causing my vision to blur for a moment, and when my eyes refocused again, I found myself inside the tank as well. A turn of my head revealed that I was all alone in the strange liquid. I could here voices, like whispered commands. Looking out, I could see the door from which I had entered the room. It was silent and the door was shut, perhaps I had always been in this tank.

The door slammed open and Duo dashed into the room, slamming the door behind him. He stared up at me for a few moments before looking frantically about the room for something. I couldn't really see him too well because of the contrast of light between him and me. He must have spotted something because he yanked a large object off the wall and started running straight at me. At the last moment possible, he raised what ended up being a fire extinguisher above his head and smashed it into the glass in front of me, literally rocking my world. I wanted to close my eyes as he reared up for another blow but something made me glance back up again. With a shock, I realized that it wasn't Duo bashing at the glass, it was me.

I didn't have long to contemplate this as a particularly strong blow caused the tank to finally smash and me to come spilling out onto the cold floor. I coughed as I struggled to breathe regular oxygen again. A strong hand pulled me to my feet. I was shaking and dripping wet, and the hand that was supporting me was shaking too, a side effect of too much adrenaline.

I shook my head to get some of the water out of my bangs, coughing a bit more in the process. A flash of auburn caught my eye and with a start I realized it was my own hair. The hand grasped mine a bit tighter, except it wasn't my hand he…I was holding at all, it was Duo's. This was a bit too strange for me to take; I was feeling light headed as it was.

"Nigaro!" I heard myself say. I looked up into my own eyes, they were filled with fear and anxiety, but there was a strong undercurrent of determination. Apparently, my response, or lake there of, was not enough. He pulled me close against him, whispering in my ear. "Please run. Get out of here!" He gave me nudge towards the door. My feet carried me the rest of the way there.

At the door, I turned my head back to him with a concerned look. He gave me a smile that I'm sure I've never given anyone else. "I'll be fine, just go." I nodded my head slowly and then dashed down the hall. The lights swallowed me up and just before my hearing disappeared as well, I swear I heard a faint whisper saying, "goodbye Duo."

When I opened my eyes, everything was eerily quite, for a moment. Then everything came rushing back to me and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out my head hurt so badly. Around me, I felt my familiar silk comforter. The headache quietly started to slip away into nothingness, along with the weird chimera that had somehow birthed itself inside my head. I quickly grasped hold of it before it could escape into the ashes from whence it came. Where on earth had it come from?

I sat up and lit a cigarette, taking a long drag and holding it. Smoking in bed; what a wonderful way to start the day. I just sat there in the dark, letting the fag burn between my figures. I finally let the smoke escape again. It suddenly reminded me of those old Hollywood movies, where after a couple has sex they always light up a cigarette, just smoking away in the afterglow of their lives. I sighed, rubbing my eyes, God I hadn't thought about sex in awhile. I was 19. I was supposed to be barely keeping my hormones in check. Well good riddance to it anyway, I turned my thoughts back to the dream.

Now, I'm no Freud. I don't buy into that dream analysis crap, in fact, I rarely buy into him at all; that man had some serious issues going down. But this dream seemed too familiar and too significant to simply ignore. It had started off normal as dreams go…actually I've never dreamed about a patient before so maybe not, but then even my dream self began to think the whole situation was a messed up. And the switching of bodies thing had to be important, it was too confusing not to be.

I begrudgingly looked at the clock, it laughed in my face. It was four in morning. I could already tell this day was going to be a disaster. I slipped out of my cocoon of covers. I hate coffee; it does something to my system that makes me very tense and very anxious, not a good combination. So I made myself some hot chocolate as the heat had yet to kick in and winter wasn't quite over yet.

My office was normal, so normal that I almost wanted to mess things up on purpose, which was wickedly strange as I am sure I have huge case of OCD that I just haven't let bother me till now. I decided on a compromise between myself and restacked the papers on my desk; I didn't have many.

I moved on to the paper I was writing on my newest (and I dare say boldest) theory. I dreaded the lectures I would have to follow it up with but the idea was just so prominent in my mind, I could not simply let it go. The minutes chugged along to the fast rhythm of my typing.

I had a late morning appointment. One I would always avoid at all costs. Like I said, I don't only examine criminals, I get to do mental check ups on politicians too. It's ironic for me to say that I enjoy the sessions with criminals more. Criminals at least admit they're corrupt; that they aren't so high and mighty. Politicians lie all the time and think the world revolves around them. This is usually the cause of their problems in the first place. This girl was the worst. She was the leader of a small pacifistic nation located somewhere in Scandinavia, and had become so obsessed with me that I was probably making her worse off, instead of fixing her.

She came in all prim and proper looking; her clothes designed just for her. "Hero!" she still pronounced my name wrong. And I somehow just knew that she was going to try to make physical contact with me. She ran towards my desk, eagerly trying to give me a hug, as expected. I held a notebook up in defense and ushered her quickly to the couch.

"What are you doing here, Relena?" I finally asked as I sat down in my customary chair. "We've had more than enough sessions. Have you been taking your medication?"

She lay daintily upon the couch and half glared up at me, smiling snootily, "yeah? Well maybe I want to try something different" like she wanted a change of clothes or something, Jesus.

I hated this, "any side affects? You're taking Valium, correct, any trouble sleeping?" Valium is a Diazepam, used to treat anxiety problems; it can sometimes result in a patient having problems sleeping.

Relena shrugged, "well…sometimes..." that meant no. So really, she was just here to see me, as usual.

"And what, might I ask; do you want me to do about it?" I bit out. She didn't even have a proper BS story to be here. "I'm not a psychiatrist, I can't prescribe you medication, the most I can do is make a recommendation, and even that is pushing it."

Her expression quickly morphed into one of a scolded child not used to not having things her way. "Hero…I just want some help is all, I just…"

I stood up abruptly, slamming my notebook down on the chair. "Relena. There is a reason you have anxiety problems and I've just given up on you realizing it yourself. I tried to point them out, but it runs deeper than I first imagined…" I paused to take a breath, pointing a finger at her, "you can't accept that not everyone in this world sees things like you do, you think the world runs your way and by your rules. You can't accept flaws in your perfect little world, and most of all you can't accept flaws in yourself. So when something goes wrong, out of control, or out of your hands, you don't know what to do and you become anxious. You don't need medication; you need to get your head adjusted…" She looked like she was going to burst into tears, woe is me.

The door burst open and in marched the "Maxwell Procession," in all its loveliness. I whipped my head around to glare at Kent. "Can you tell time? You're half and hour early." I rubbed my eyes again. "Here, just… leave Duo here while I wrap things up, I'm sure Ms. Peacecraft won't mind," I turned to glance back at her, my eyes forcing her to nod her head. She seems a bit shook up right now; I wonder why, not.

They released Duo from his chains and made a hasty exit, must be happy hour somewhere. Duo had his loose hair covering most of his face again. "Take a seat somewhere, Duo," I said, trying not to let the memories of last night distract me. Of course, what he had to do was go lay down on my desk, with his hair spread around him. That was just too disturbing to deal with at the moment.

I turned back to Relena, sitting down once more. "Listen, Relena," I said in a much calmer voice, "I can not allow you to be my patient anymore…"

"But…" she protested as soon as the words left my mouth.

"Shh," that silenced her for the moment, "you've become completely obsessed with me and this whole situation. You're worried more about getting better than you are about getting worse. I am not, and will never be, your perfect white knight. You need to go out there and not look back. You cannot depend on me; I am but a man with a notebook, nothing more."

"But Hero, I lov…" damn but she was persistent.

I waved her comment away, "no you don't. You love what you think I am… something impossible for me to be." My gaze couldn't help but flicker over to the boy lying on my desk. "Now if you excuse me, I have to help somebody who really needs it."

"I wish I really needed help," she whispered, "then you would pay more attention to me."

I frowned at her, "Relena, that's probably the stupidest things I've ever heard you say. Try not knowing your ups from your downs." I stood up and opened the door for her to leave. "Call your driver, you can wait in the lobby downstairs, my next patient's case is confidential."

She wiped a few tears with the back of her well-manicured hand. Standing, she fixed the wrinkles in her skirt before walking towards the door. Duo opened his eyes to stare at her, giving her a wicked grin. She turned her head quickly away from him, strutting out the door and ignoring me the whole way down the hall to the elevator. Today was actually looking up.

I shut the door, finally putting a close on the situation. Duo had of course taken the luxury of napping on my desk, what a case. I plunked down in my office chair and rested my chin on my right hand, peering down at the chimera stretched out before me. He opened his eyes to look at me through heavy lashes, a contented little smile playing across his face.

"We can have your session here if you like." I told him gently, smiling down at him in return. There was something about him that just screamed 'cute' at the moment. I couldn't help but absorb and return the warmth that seemed to emanate from him. In my dream he had seemed so cold, like there were two sides to the same story.

His mouth opened wide as he let out a huge yawn. "I'm sleepy," he said decidedly more to himself.

"How is the quality of your sleep typically?" No matter how easily we were broaching the subject, I would not discuss the dream with Duo. It would be a danger to any patient/psychologist relationship and would only confuse him more.

He sat up a little bit, resting on his elbows and staring ahead of him in thought. Finally, he nodded, "sleep is…hard."

I made a quick note, "how so?"

He scrunched up his brow in thought; it really seemed like he had trouble staying on track long enough to even form a sentence. We had managed quite nicely yesterday; I didn't understand what was so different. An idea occurred to me but it just seemed so absurd. But everything about this case was absurd. "Duo, would you like an elastic to tie your hair back?" I slowly opened a drawer in my desk and pulled out a rubber band.

At that, he brightened considerably, snatching the band out of my palm and whipping his hair into a loose braid. "Ya know, rubber bands hurt my hair, maybe you could bring real hair ties next time." He stated immediately after he was finished. I stared at him impassively so he put on this pout, "pretty please," he begged.

"Fine" I drawled, "can we get back to business now?"

He crossed his legs and let his calves hang off the edge of my desk. "Yes Heero, what's your question?"

"I want to know why it is that you have trouble sleeping." It seemed like he was finally paying attention. Maybe we could actually make some progress today.

He barked a short laugh, his lips curling up at the edges while his eyes slipped shut. "There are way too many distractions for my sleep pattern to be normal."

I gave him a questioning look, willing him to continue.

His eyes reopened to pear at me again but he kept his head tilted back a little, exposing a long neck. "Let's just say that my mother is a little attached to me, and never leaves me alone enough to breath let alone sleep."

My thoughts returned to the file that contained all of Duo's personal information. Even if it was sorely lacking in some areas, it still would've been nice to be able to confirm his information. But I had promised I would not use it in return for his cooperation. I know it is rare to find a psychologist (or anyone) who holds confidentiality and trust in high regard, but I guess I am one of them. Plus, I wouldn't want to betray Duo. I couldn't imagine ever willingly causing the boy to be unhappy. "What is your relationship like?"

"Well I only just met her a few years ago. She hates mess, loves control, is over protective, over achieving, and demanding. She can find me almost anywhere, and she will not shut up. But…she is my mother and I need her guidance."

I wanted to joke and say she sounded Asian but that just didn't seem right. "I hate to bring this up but your file did not have any family records, is there any reason why your mother is not listed?"

He sighed, "As I said, I didn't grow up with her; she only came to me because I was in trouble…and because I could help her." He paused as if he was considering revealing something, "the people who are in charge of me right now do not know of her existence. They aren't allowed to see her."

"How are you having trouble sleeping if she never shows up?" I decided to reveal the information I had come across yesterday. "Are you trying to tell me that the people at Larkhill have no clue who she is?"

His eyes opened wide in surprise and something else that I could not place. "Larkhill…" he whispered, "she was born in Larkhill." He closed his eyes, shuddering, "those bastards don't know what they did to her, but I know." Those eyes looked at me with icy fire, "they deserved everything I did to them. I know they'll come back. They always come back. They'll take me." He speared me straight in the eye, "and they'll take you too… and every time…I'm just going to have to destroy them again."

Wow, I didn't understand any of this. He was far off in some other world and I was busy grasping at straws of information. He looked a bit shook up. I took his clammy hand in mine; a little physical contact never hurt anybody. The sudden feeling of déjà vu that swept over me was almost frightening. I was almost certain that I had met this boy before, so sure that I could almost taste him on the tip of my tongue. I licked my lips and tightened my hand gently around his. This was all so foolish, I didn't understand what was happening to me, but it needed to leave me in peace. "Please explain Duo. I can not help but not understand you."

"I…you…" he shook his head, "alright, I'll try." He paused to think his words through for a moment. "Larkhill…" he began, "can only be found by those who know where to look for it. It is a structure…a system of sorts, but not physically. Larkhill is a mentality, an artificial system of the mind that is most easily comparable to energy. It cannot be destroyed; it can only change its form."

I raised my eyebrow in surprised, "you mean the collective intelligence theory? The one big brain?" Once again, I seemed to be connected to all of this, the theory I had been drawing up just that morning was on this exact subject.

He looked at me with an easily recognizable expression that said, "How would you know about that?" It was my turn to cause his heart beat to quicken a little.

A small smirk tugged at my lips. "I just so happen to be working on the theory. It's going to be a major break through if people actually manage to think outside the box for once."

He seemed to consider this new information for a moment. A smile curved up the side of his lips. He gazed at me through his bangs, "there was a man once named…Heero Yuy."

I stared at him curiously. My name is uncommon even in Japan. In fact, it is impossible to write correctly using Hiragana or Kanji. The fact that a man had the exact same name as I do was just not possible; therefore, it is only logical to conclude that I was named after him.

Duo continued, "He was the first to be successful beyond the first stage of trying to develop an organic noosphere." In definition, a noosphere is 'a transcendent, rapidly evolving collective intelligence--an informational cortex of the planet.' The most prominent example would have to be the internet; however, the internet is of course inorganic. It requires equipment to be accessed and does not connect to the core of a living being, only to the conscience realm. To develop such a thing would be a major breakthrough for the entire scientific community and the rest of the world.

"But he trusted far too greatly in the nature of man, never expecting his lap partner to betray him for his own devices. J, or Doctor J as he is most commonly known, wanted the sphere for himself and allied with the rapidly growing power known as OZ. They hired someone to kill Heero, thus allowing J to finish the development of the noosphere. In return, when the project was complete, J promised to use it in its full capacity to assist OZ. Duo bit his lip in consideration, leaving the light impression of teeth upon it. "He called his new creation…Larkhill."

He kindly waited for all this to sink in. Sure, that answered a lot of questions, but it seemed to cause more than it answered. 'What did Larkhill do?' 'In retrospect, where was it?' 'Who else was associated with its maintenance?' And certainly the most prominent, 'What did Duo have to do with it?'

All this would have to be answered next time as Kent beat at the door with his fists. "I gave you plenty of time, now open up." He demanded, funny, he had never let the closed door bother him before, wonder what changed his mind. I gave an apologetic smile to the boy sitting on my desk and strode off towards the door. He had already finished unbraiding his hair as if he had never braided it in the first place.

I opened the door to let the charging bull in. His eyes locked on his target on my desk. Duo swiveled his head around with wide eyes dancing in the light from the mirror. "It's time to go?" he asked almost self-consciously. The graying man nodded his head slightly.

Duo hopped off the desk and shuffled over to the tall man, letting his wrists be chained without a bat of an eyelash. They didn't even bother with a search this time; simply whisking him out the door and into the armored vehicle I knew waited for them down below. Life was certainly a strange one these days.  
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Ok, this is mega late. Longer than the last chapter though. Thanks for all the comments so far folks... cept I got this random reply yelling at me for shaving Duo's head... uh... I didn't. Look, see, he still has hair!

Also: to the person who got pissed about me alluding to NCS. It's in the warnings, is extremely neccesary for later plot points, and you can ignore as I never actually wrote the scene. I'm sorry that you are discouraged but please continue you reading if you were enjoying it as much as you say you were before this occured.

PLEASE COMMENT!!


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